Adjustable portable partition for stock cars



Aug. 16, 1938. R. F. TRUSCOTT ADJUSTABLE PORTABLE PARTITION FOR STOCK CARS Filed Aug. 51. 1935 3 SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Aug. 16, 1938. R. F. TRUSCOTT ADJUSTABLE PORTABLE PARTITION FOR STOCK CARS Filed Aug. 51, 1935 3 Sheegs-Sheet 2 FIG. 11

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Aug. 16, 1938. TRUSCOTT 2,127,194

ADJUSTABLE PORTABLE PARTITION FOR STOCK CARS Filed Aug. 31, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 38 INVENTOR.

I ATTOKNEY Patented Aug. 16, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE PORTABLE PARTITION FOR STOCK CARS 3 Claims.

My invention relates to an adjustable, portable and detachable partition for stock cars and the like.

The object of my invention is to provide a partition which may be readily installed in stock cars to provide small compartments therein so that less than carload shipments of live stock may be shipped in a car with safety.

Another object is to provide a partition, several of which may be installed in a stock car to provide a series of compartments therein so that several small shipments may be conveyed in the same car and the shipments kept separate.

A still further object is to provide a partition for stock cars which may be lengthened or shortened to accommodate varying widths of said stock cars.

A still further object is to provide a detachable partition of the kind mentioned, which, when not in use, may be collapsed or folded up so that it may be easily handled, stored or shipped.

Another object is to provide a partition of the kind mentioned, which, when installed in a car, will present no protruding elements upon which stock may be injured, during transportation.

A still further object is to provide a partition of the kind mentioned, which may be attached to cars of varying types of construction.

These and other objects will be more fully explained as this description progresses.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side View of a portion of a stock car, to which my invention has been applied. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, parts being broken away for convenience of illustration. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail View of one of the hook elements employed in the attachment device of the partition. Fig. 5 is a detail side View of one end of the partition and attachment mechanism, the opposite end being substantially the same as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a. plan view of Fig. 5, except that the attached mecha nism is extended to accommodate a car that is wider than that anticipated in Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 8 is a detail of one half of the major frame in its folded position for storage or transportation, the other half of the frame being a duplicate of that shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 9 is a face view of the clamping device and support for the extension wings of the partition. Fig. 10 is a plan view of a modified form of the supporting and adjusting device that carries the major frame of the partition. Fig. 11 is a side View of Fig. 10. Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a side View of a portion of a stock car in which the element l5 represents the sill of the car carrying the floor '56. Attached to the sill iii of the car is shown posts or studs IT; and at H! are seen diagonal brace members. The studs ll carry the roof framing and roof 2! of the car.

To the studs H and brace elements I8 is at- 10 tached a series of boards l9, properly spaced apart for ventilation and the like. This construction is common in all stock cars, excepting that in some cases the studs and bracing are made of wood, while in other cases they are 15 made of structural shapes, such as Z-bars, channels and the like.

At 2! is an eye bolt on which is threaded a clamp plate 22 and a look nut 23 which is preferably provided with handles 24. The clamp plate 0 22 is provided with a series of projections 25 that are spaced apart so that a bar may be placed against the element 2! and rest on the projecting elements 25 so that the bar may be used as a pry or wrench with which the plate may be 25 loosened or tightened on the threaded element 2i.

At 26 is a hook like element having an eye through which the bolt 2| passes. The outer end of the element 26 is provided with an eye 21, the object of which will be later explained. 30

At 28 is a bar having a hole therein, through which loosely passes the eye bolt 2|. At 29 is a hook clamp element having a hole 30 therein that is threaded to receive the threaded portion of the eye bolt 2 l. 35

It will be understood that the hook 29 and the bar 28 are narrow enough to pass through the openings 3! between the boards I S and the sides of the car. The assembly just described forms the supports for the partition, and is applied to 40 the car by passing the hook 29 and the bar 28 through the crack 3| and hooking the hook 29 over the stud ll or brace l8, after which the clamp 22 is screwed against the side slats IQ of the car to clamp the assembly in a rigid position, 45 after which the lock nut 23 is screwed tightly against the clamp plate 22.

If the partition is to be placed at a point where the stud IT or the braces I8 cannot be engaged by the hook 29, the bar 28 will span the gap 3i 50 and the butt of the hook 29 will engage the bar 28 so that the boards l9 will be clamped between the hook element 29, bar 28 and the clamp block 22.

It is obvious that the assembly just described 55 will not only function as a support for the partition, but it will also function to adjust the supporting eye 2 la: toward or away from the boards l9 to allow for variations in the width of various cars, as will be later described.

The major frame of the partition is a combination of pipe fittings and is divided into twoduplicate sections, each of which comprises a vertical pipe element 32 and a horizontal pipe element 33. On each end'of the vertical element 32 is an L pipe fitting 34 and 35. At 36 is a short length of pipe screwed into the fitting 34 and at 31 is a short fitting screwed into the fitting 35. At 38 is a hinge connecting the elements 31 and 33 so that the element 33 may be placed either in a vertical or horizontal position. At 39 is a short length of pipe, slidably positioned on the pipe 33 so that when the elements 33 and 3'! are in alignment, the pipe 39 may be slipped over the hinge joint 38 and abut the L fitting 35, so as to form a rigid L shape structure of the pipes 32 and 33.

At 40 is a U shaped pin element, the legs of which pass through registering holes in the sleeve element 39 and the elements 31 and 33, and function to hold the sleeve 39 in its position over the hinge joint 38. The lower ends of the legs of the element 40 are provided with an eye through which a split ring 4| may be passed, as a retainer for the U-shaped pins. The pin element 46 is provided with an eye like element in which a chain 42 may be attached, and the opposite end of the chain 42 may be attached to any suitable place on the framing so that the pin element 49 will not become separated or lost from the frame. The ring 4| may also be attached to the chain 42 to prevent it from becoming lost.

Upon the outer end of the pipe element 33 is a second short length of pipe 43 which is also slidably mounted on the pipe 33. This short length of pipe 43 is provided with a slot 44 through which passes an eye bolt 45, which functions as a retaining element for the sleeve 43, and attached to the eye-bolt 45 is one end of a chain 46, which carries a split ring retaining element 41 and also a U-shaped pin element 48 which is made the same as that described for the element 49. On the pipe 32 is a series of outwardly projecting pins 49, the object of which will be later explained. 1

On the pipe 32 is slidably mounted a pair of sleeve-like hanger brackets 56, which are provided with a vertical groove 51 and a series of horizontal slots 52, which open into the vertical groove so that the hanger bracket may be turned on the pipe 32, so that the pins 49 are in alignment with the groove 5| so that the bracket 59 may be slipped up and down the pipe 32 to any desired point whereupon the pins 49 will enter the slots 52 and prevent further sliding of the bracket 50, up or down the pipe 32. Integrally formed on the bracket 56 is a hook like element 53, the object of which will be later explained.

At 54 is a wire mesh, the ends of which are attached to a pair of vertical pipe elements 55 and 56, which are carried in eye bolts 51 and 53 that are attached to the vertical frame members 32 as will later be described.

At 59 and 66 is a pair of rectangular pipe frame elements on which is carried a wire mesh 6| and 62. At 63 and 64 is a pair of scissor-like clamp elements, one end of which is adapted to clamp around the vertical member of the frame element 59, the opposite ends of the clamp element are provided with holes that are adapted to receive the pin or hook-like element 26, which supports the wing frame element 59.

To assemble the partition, the two halves of the major frame element are assembled by abutting the ends of the pipe element 33 against the end of the short pipe element 36, and then sliding the sleeve 43 over the joint and passing the'legs of the pin element 48 through holes inthe sleeve element 43 and the two pipe elements 33 and 36. This assembly occurs at the diagonal corners of the major frame.

After the frame has been thus assembled, the

wire mesh 54 is placed within the major frame and the eye bolts 51 and 58, on either of the pipes 55 and 53 are passed through holes in the opposite frame members 32, after which nuts 65 are threaded on eye-bolts 51 and 58, whereby the wire mesh 54 may be stretched between the major frame of the partition. After this has been done, the partition may be set in the car by placing the hook elements 53 in the eyes 2190 on either side of the car.

Due to the fact that stock cars vary in width, the eyes- 2|:1: may be adjusted in or out as previously described so that the hook elements 53 on either end of the major frame elements will enter the eyes 21x.

Should the car be so wide that too much space is left between the boards I9 and the frame ele-- ment 32, the wing element 59 is provided to fill in the extra space.

It has been found that some cars are so much wider than others that the eyes 2|a: cannot be adjusted or set out far enough so that the hook elements 53 can be placed in the eyes 2!:1: at each side of the car. Therefore I have provided the device shown in Figs. and 11 in which the bracket element 50 is provided with a threaded sleeve 66 in which is threaded a rod 61, one end of which is formed into the hook 53 and by screwing the rod 61 backward or forward, additional adjustment may be acquired so that the partition may be placed in cars that are extremely wide, as well as those that are narrow.

When the partition is not in use, the wire mesh 54 may obviously be removed from the major frame, and the major frame dissembled into its two duplicate elements, which may be folded up as illustrated in Fig. 8 and the wire mesh 54 may be rolled into a roll, and the supporting devices, such as the hooks 29 and their assembled parts,

may be all rolled into a single bundle which is compact and therefore may be easily handled or stored or transported without occupying much ing a collapsible frame carrying a detachable wire.

mesh, hangers on said frame, said hangers being adjustable in spaced relationship to each other, supports for said hangers and frame, said supports being attachable to the side elements of the stock car, and means for adjusting said hangersand supports so that the partition may be used in varying widths of cars and still be supported on the hangers and supports.

2. In a portable and adjustable partition for stock cars, a major frame for said partition, said frame comprising two duplicate sections, each section comprising one end and one side of said frame, said end and side elements being hingedly joined together, the free ends of one end and side element abutting the free ends of the other end and side element; a pair of sleeve elements, one for and slidably mounted on each end of the side elements, part of said sleeve elements being adapted to slide over the hinge joints of the frame and. the rest of the sleeve elements being adapted to slide over the abutting joints of the frame; and means for rigidly holding said sleeve in said position for the purpose of rigidly holding the frame in a rectangular form; and means for holding said frame between the walls of a stock car.

3. In a portable and adjustable partition for stock cars as described in claim 2, a wire mesh, said wire mesh being suspended between supports attached to the ends thereof, said supports being detachably attached to the opposite members of said frame, and means for tensioning said Wire mesh within said frame, a pair of wing elements, one for each end of said frame, said wing ele ments comprising a frame which is covered with a wire mesh, said Wing frames being carried on the supports that carry the major partition frame, said wing frame elements being so positioned and carried that they cover the space intermediate the ends of the major frame and the "sides of the stock car.

-ROY F. TRUSCO'I'I'. 

